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Chiropractic Is Quackery

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 7 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

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Rated G. (Control what you see)

Chiropractic Is Quackery

Chiropractic is a dangerous scam.

While spinal manipulation MAY help SOME low back pain, manipulation can easily be done by other health professionals that are MUCH safer for patients, such as physical therapists.

The main danger of chiropractic is that most chiropractors are not trained in proper diagnosis and may delay referring you to a real doctor, even for life-threatening conditions.

Another danger is that chiropractors have a pseudoscientific belief system and often recommend dangerous, expensive, or bizarre treatments that are completely worthless.

Chiropractic is also dangerous for potential students. Chiropractors have the highest student loan default rates of any health profession. Many private insurers will not pay for chiropractic, so new graduates increasingly must try to sell patients expensive and unnecessary "pre-paid care plans" or risk defaulting on their student loans.

The purpose of this lens is to promote skeptical thinking about chiropractic, and to dissuade students from taking out chiropractic college loans.

Please forward this lens to any friends or family members who are considering visiting a chiropractor (or becoming one) so they can get the facts and make an informed choice.

Don't become a chiropractor 

Here's why to avoid this career

Chiropractors have the highest student loan default rates of any healthcare profession.

(If you don't believe me, just follow the links on this page.)

The average chiropractor (DC) graduates with over $100,000 in student loan debt, yet can usually make only around $30,000 as an associate doctor. This figure often includes no health insurance, retirement, vacation, or other benefits.

As an associate doctor, your main job will be to RECRUIT PATIENTS, which basically means to indoctrinate them into the idea that they need to come to your office three times a week for the rest of their lives.

This is accomplished by scaring patients and telling them they have a fake lesion called a subluxation. This is, of course, pure quackery. Only chiropractors believe that subluxations exist. No other doctor or scientist has ever found one.

In reality, you are just cracking the joints of a patient's back and your treatment can have no effect on health (other than maybe easing some minor back pain). There is no evidence that getting joints cracked regularly is good -- it just costs the patient extra money and may even cause ligament laxity.

Many modern chiros will tell you that they don't treat subluxations and that they are evidence based. Don't fall for this one. If chiropractic was truly "evidence based", it wouldn't even need to exist as a profession since physical therapists and physicians can crack joints for back pain.

Some chiropractors claim they can help all kinds of things which they have no business treating. Some claim they can treat diabetes, ADD, hormone problems, depression, even cancer... just by cracking someone's joints.

The cost of chiropractic college is high. Over $80,000 for just tuition. This does not include books, equipment, very expensive licensing exams, etc., -- not to mention the years of lost wages while you are a full time student.

Students will often hear reports of chiropractors making big bucks. This is usually false data that is coming from chiropractic sources. The reality for new grads is that it is almost impossible to open up your own clinic, and the student loan default rate for chiropractors is extremely high.

Before you go into serious debt to become a chiropractor, please research the links provided on the page and seriously consider the information presented. You may avoid a poor choice that will hurt you for years to come in the form of lost time and a huge debt burden.

Chiropractor Is Voted "Most Overrated Career" 

"Chiropractor" has been voted Most Overrated Career by U.S. News & World Report magazine for 2007.

Click HERE for the full story

According to the magazine: "Some chiropractors think their discipline can cure everything from headaches to sciatica, asthma to premenstrual syndrome. But the Federal Trade Commission only allows chiropractors to claim they can treat low back pain. And even so, research shows that mainstream treatments for lower back pain are equally effective. Many chiropractors also devote considerable time to marketing-in part to pay back the cost of chiropractic school, usually over $100,000."

Chiropractic Links 

Links Promoting The Skeptical Discussion Of Chiropractic

Chirotalk: The Skeptical Chiropractic Discussion Forum - Home

The #1 Chiropractic Discussion Forum on the intern more...1 point

Chirobase: Your Skeptical Guide to Chiropractic History, Theories, and Practices

A comprehensive site exposing chiropractic quacker more...0 points

The Student Loan Mess: Why Chiropractic Is in Trouble

This article shows why so many chiropractors defau more...0 points

Chiropractic Student Debt Blog

A whole blog dedicated to The Chiropractic Student more...0 points

Improper Claims on Chiropractic College Web Sites

This article how chiropractic college lie on their more...0 points

A Warning for Pre-Chiropractic Students

A personal essay on what it's like to be a Doctor more...0 points

http://www.defaulteddocs.dhhs.gov/l

List of doctors who have defaulted on their Health more...0 points

Confessions of a Quackbuster

I confess to being a skeptic who is concerned abou more...0 points

ChiroWatch - All you need to know about chiropractic

CHIROWATCH.COM - We educate the public about the r more...0 points

Skeptical Chiropractic Videos on Youtube 

Watch them and create your own


Neck 911

Runtime: 2:01
11855 views
10 Comments:


Victims of Chiropractic Abuse

Runtime: 3:02
5780 views
10 Comments:


Chiropractor Abuse Stroke Legislation

Runtime: 0:55
1416 views
10 Comments:

Is Chiropractic Dangerous? 

Ask An Injured Patient

For a profession that claims to be fairly safe, there sure are a LOT of groups of injured patients.

Check out this list of websites and organizations started by patients who were injured by chiropractic treatment:

Click HERE to see list

If you become a chiropractor, there is a very real possibility that you will hurt someone. Chiropractors mainly hurt people due to their lack of training in diagnosis (they try to treat critical emergency cases with useless chiro treatments).

But sometimes they stroke people out by doing unnecessary neck manipulations.

Buyer Beware!

How you can help fight Chiropractic Quackery 

Together, we can spread the word

#1 -- Email this lens to a friend, vote on this lens, or leave comments in our guestbook (below).

#2 -- Post VIDEOS on Youtube.
Until recently, Youtube was totally overrun with chiropractic quackery. This gave a false sense of legitimacy to pseudoscience and put patients and students at risk.

Please continue to post news segments (if you have permission) about injured chiropractic patients, chiropractic student loan defaults, chiropractors getting arrested for fraud advertising, etc.

And if you have video production skills, consider creating a short video. It can even be just a "slideshow" with research, facts, or links to where consumers can go for more information. If you need links to research to back-up what you say, please email me and I will be glad to help.

Your efforts could help prevent someone getting swindled by a chiropractor or even having a stroke from an unnecessary manipulation. Thanks!

Reader Feedback 

Here are the latest cheers and jeers from chiroskeptics and chiro true believers.

DoctorSJ

Hi Kelley Eidem,

I have been to a few chiros that did not relieve my pain. So I guess our two anecdotal testimonials cancel each other out. :-)

Posted March 19, 2008

KelleyEidem

I've been to several chiros, and received relief of my pain from almost every one.

Posted March 03, 2008

jafopt

When you put it that way, I guess I can't disagree with you. Keep spreading the word.

Posted January 19, 2008

DoctorSJ

Hi jafopt,

Unfortunately, I do not get to choose the advertising placed on this site... those ads are selected by Google Adsense and Squidoo. Having advertising on the sidebar is only a small compromise, considering the number of people whom this lens has reached with important information.

I am not against people reading chiropractor's cheesy websites and advertising though. Let them read all the information and decide for themselves.

Personally, I think it is kind of funny that chiropractors are so stupid that they are paying for advertising on an anti-quackery website. :-)

Posted January 18, 2008

jafopt

why are you letting these assholes advertise on your lens? See top right hand corner

Posted January 16, 2008

 
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DoctorSJ

About DoctorSJ

Former chiropractor, now helping the public stay safe from health quackery.

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